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Tornado
A Tornado (/tôrˈnādō/) is a violently rotating column of air, in contact with the ground, either parallel from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often visible as a funnel cloud. In some parts of the world, tornadoes are called twisters or cyclones, although cyclone is a more generic term for low pressure winds. Tornadoes can come in a variety of shapes, but the most common is a condensed funnel with a cloud of debris at the smallest tip touching the ground. Tornadoes have been reported to strike every continent excluding Antarctica, though it is possible for tornadoes to strike there. 'Origins' The word tornado in English stems from the word tornada (thunderstorm) and tornar (to turn), both originating in the mid 1500s from the Spanish vocabulary. It was then renamed a ternado by English sailors, which eventually evolved to the word tornado we use today. Just like cyclones, tornadoes are sometimes named, like the Great Tri-State Tornado and such. 'Characteristics' 'Size and Shape' The most common shape of a tornado is a funnel. Depending on the weather and conditions, a tornado can either become more or less severe. The very tip of the tornado, which touches the ground, will usually have a type of debris cloud surrounding it. They can also be modified by rain, dust, and in the rarest of cases, fire. Tornadoes that are beginning to dissipate will resemble a narrow tube, and sometimes can also curl into weird shapes. Usually, if the tornado has a longer path of destruction, that would mean that it belongs to a family of tornadoes. 'Locations' Out of every country on Earth, the United States has the most tornadoes ever, as well as the strongest and some of the most violent. This is due to the unique geography of North America. What is known as Tornado Alley in central US is the largest producer of tornadoes every year. On average, the United States has 1,274 tornadoes per year. In Europe, the UK suffers the most in Europe, at a few hundred a year. Since Spring and Autumn are transitional seasons, tornadoes are most common during this time frame. 'Electroagnetism' Tornadoes do in fact emit electromagnet signals that can be picked up by modern-day electronics. Under closer observation, it has been proven that lightning has similar correlations with tornadoes. In fact, the amount of lightning activity decreases when a tornado touches the ground. In many case, powerful tornadoes and thunderstorms show an increased amount of positive discharge. However, lightning and electromagnet discharges have little or no effect on the actual actions of a tornado, although they are connected with the phenomenon. 'Types' 'Fire Devil' A fire devil is a column of rotating air that is induced by fire and is pretty often made up of flame. When warm wind is tightened down to a funnel shape, it can suck in burning debris and flammable gases, causing the wind to set afire. However, a fire devil is a fairly weak cyclone and rarely ever turns into an actual tornado. The fire devil consists of a core, which is actually aflame, and a rotating funnel of air that supplies fresh oxygen to the core, keeping it burning. It normally reaches up to 5 feet in diameter, and a couple hundred feet high, and 2,000 °F. Other instances, a firestorm can occur, which is even more deadly. The fire devil gets most of its fuel from the carbon-enriched gases of burning plants, which can fuel the fire devil for a longer period of time. 'Waterspout' A waterspout is an intense vortex (usually a funnel-shaped cloud) that occurs over bodies of water. They are connected to a towering cumuliform cloud or a cumulonimbus cloud. In the common form, it's a tornado without a super-cell. While usually weaker than its land counterparts, stronger waterspouts can be spawned by mesocyclones. Waterspouts do not suck up water, instead they are small and weak rotating columns of air over water. While waterspouts form mostly in tropical areas, other areas also report waterspouts, including Europe, and Antarctica. Although rare, waterspouts have been observed in connection with snow precipitation. 'Other Forms' Sometimes tornadoes can come in different forms, which can either make it for the better or for worse. Whichever way, all should stay clear of these. 'Dust Devil' A dust devil a strong force of whirlwinds and can last a long time. Dust devils can also be compared closely to regular tornadoes. Since a tornado forms under a mesocyclone, which is the back of a super-cell thunderstorm, and a dust devil forms under sunny conditions, dust devils almost never come close to the intensity of a tornado. Interestingly enough, dust devils can produce radio noises and electrical fields. This happens when the dust devil picks up the grains of sand. As those grains are flying through the air, they scratch onto each other, creating an electrical charge. Dust devils can in fact become powerful enough to pick up humans and even cause buildings to collapse. Dust devils also occur on Mars. 'Gustnado' A gustnado is a type of tornado that has a very short lifespan cloud that can form during thunderstorms. Gustnadoes can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. And most of them are fairly weak, registering at an F0 or F1 level winds, or up to 112 mph. Most gustnadoes only need winds from a thunderstorm to be above 58 mph. Although they can be found up front with severe thunderstorms, they can also be found in super-cells as well, though it would become more of a low category tornado. The term "gustnado" is most common in the Great Plains, where they are the most common. 'First Photograph' The US Signal Corps was tracking a storm that was moving towards Anderson County. During the time, people were watching the tornado take place. It moved northward for roughly half an hour, but because it moved so slowly, fruit farmer A.A. Adams had time to assemble his box camera and capture one single photograph. He actually had set up a photography studio in Kansas beforehand, but sold it twenty years prior to the image. He was standing only 14 miles from the twister. At that time, many Americans have never seen one before. Unfortunately, another photo was taken 4 months afterwards in Howard, South Dakota, which shows a more dramatic image. This image was then said to be the first photo of a tornado, stealing from Adam's work. The second photograph was taken by F.N Robinson. 'Historical Records' 'Largest' The way the width is recorded is by measuring the diameter of the damage path. In this case, the largest tornado is the El Reno tornado, occurring on May 31, 2013. It had a width of 2.6 miles at the peak. It also had winds of up to 296 mph. Deadliest The deadliest tornado of all time would be the Daulatpur–Saturia tornado in Bangladesh. It occurred on April 26, 1989. It was also the costliest tornado in Bangladesh history. The death toll is at an estimated 1,300 people, and another 12,000 injured, making it the deadliest tornado in world history. Since Bangladesh is the third highest frequency of tornadoes, behind the United States (#1) and Canada (#2), it has received several of the top ten worst. The aftermath was horrible to the people; there were no buildings standing. The diameter of the tornado was about 1 mile wide. 'Costliest' Over the millennium of tornado history, none has ever been more costly in scale than the 1896 St. Louis tornado on May 27, racking up $2.9 billion of damage. The most damaging in recent history was in fact back in 2011 with the Joplin tornado, racking up 2.8 billion, which is really close to the world record of all time damage aid money. 'Oldest' Although there is little information, the tornado of Rosdalla, Ireland in 1054. This is the earliest known recorded tornado. And because it is the oldest known tornado, some believe that there could be older ones, but there is no proof to say they existed before then, since there is no recorded documentation on it, but the chances of there actually being tornadoes beforehand are quite high. Chances are that older tornadoes existed, as well with any other natural disaster. 'Fujita Scale' The Fujita Scale (F-scale) is a scale to rate tornado intensity, based off of amount of damage done to man-made structures and vegetation. The rating of a tornado doesn't come until after the damage has been done, where meteorologists and engineers assess the damage done. In the United States, the F-scale was replaced with the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-scale) in early 2007. The scale was first introduced by Tetsuya Fujita at the University of Chicago in 1971. It was then updated two years later in 1973. This scale took into effect the same year in the United States. However, the accuracy of the scale can change due to a better structure built by smarter engineers, causing the damage to not look as bad as it seems. 'Warning Signs' Spotting a tornado can be the difference between life and death. Look for these signs: *Dark green sky *Large sized hail *Dark, low-lying cloud *Extremely loud roar If you spot any of these signs, then take shelter indoors immediately. There are also two things to look out for as far as warning signs: a Tornado Watch and a Tornado Warning. A tornado watch is where the possibility of a tornado is possible, whereas a warning means that a tornado has actually touched down and you should go and seek shelter immediately. Although tornadoes can occur at any time, the prime time period is between 3PM and 9PM. 'Safety' 'Before' Before a tornado hits down in an area close by, make sure you hear the warning that there will be a tornado in the area. The warnings come quick, so make sure you check the weather if it's showing any of the warning signs. Certain areas will have a tornado alarm. If that goes off, seek shelter immediately. 'During' When seeking shelter, always take into consideration what you'll need to look for. Either a safe room, bunker, basement, or any low and flat location. Do not go under the highway or bridge. This is a terrible spot to be. When in a safe position, whether it be a lower level of a building, or basement, move away from windows and doors and get into tornado position. If you are stuck outside with no designated safe area, then find a vehicle and drive to either a safe distance or to a safer location. 'After' Lot's of injuries come from the aftermath when either weak structures snap or people failing to walk on unstable debris. After the tornado has cleared, make sure that you yourself have not sustained any type of injury. Always be careful when entering structures, especially if they have sustained little to critical damage. Always be on the lookout for things that can cut your feet. Wear closed-toed and sturdy shoes. Stay away from power lines. Category:Weather